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ELTE BTK ANGLISZTIKA
British and American Political Systems
Lecture sketch for the exam
This sketch tries to cover the content of the whole lecture series, presented by Mr. Miklós Lojkó, senior lecturer, DES, ELTE BTK. It contains my own drafts besides contents from the internet and 1 or 2 books. Please pay attention on the fact that the content (and the grammar :D) of this book can be
questioned.
The United Kingdom
Introductory
I. The branches of power: (by Montesquieu) There are 3 branches of power: Executive (Végrehajtó), Judiciary (Bíráskodó) and Legislature (Törvényhozó). According to HIM, the branches of power are separated in order not to be influenced by each other, however it differs in the Anglo-Saxon Law, because England did not accept this kind of governing structure, whereas the USA uses it. USA type GB type The constitution of America is artificial, that is, strict and almost impossible to be changed, while GB has NO LITERALY CONSTITUTION, the system of law in Britain consists of different kinds of "lawcolloections". (Constitution in its original context didn't include the book of law, "going for a walk").
II. The British system of law: The law in England was rather formed "by accidents in history" than by man. The most important thing about British Law, that they DON'T HAVE AN EXACT CONSTITUTION, they have an UNCODIFIED system, what includes debates, works of authors about laws and even TV programs too. The GB System of Law consists of 7 categories in which the laws are presented. The British CONSTITUTION has 3 overwhelmingly-true features: it is indistinct, indeterminate, and unentrentched (means smth like that it is well beyond being strict).
1. Statute laws: (Alalptörvények) These kind of laws are usually passed by the parliament, what holds debates about an issue, but regimes might impose a DECREE (rendelet), a non-parlamental statute. In England, no law is valid until the monarch itself signed it ("the king/queen wants it"). An example of this section is the Bill of Rights (Jognyilatkozat) in 1689.
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a) as statutes are discussed by the parliament, some words should be spared for the institute of politics in Britain, but just in general. The British parliament has 2 houses the House of Lords and the House of Commons (that is why it is called the "houses of parliament"). In the kingdom, the power is being wielded in a much different way Europeans got accustomed to. The system itself is lying in 2 pillars, both with a different role.
dignified (tisztelt)
efficient (hasznos)
monarchy
PARLIAMENT cabinet
Prime minister
Respect is important instead of efficiency
Deals with "useful" and effective acts and happenings
There is an "only dignified" branch of power (the queen) which has little to do with real laws and politics (especially, as she must not deal with it officially), and there is side, which deals with problems of the country, politics, laws etc. BUT! What gives the country a kind of uniqueness is the phenomenon, that real power wielders have to co-operate with the monarch in order to make their law (or something else) valid, that is, to be accepted by people. There are some other examples for statutes: Act(s) of settlements (unification of Scotland and England in 1707), then the Parliament Act (1832, 1867, 1884 and 1911 about the right to vote and being voted), Alien Act (1905, about foreigner-policy, where bona fide, that is good faith was the Latin term used for those foreign people, who were regarded to be "confidential" enough to live in Britain.
2. Common law: (Magán v. polgári jog) This category includes everyday practices, customs etc. so, it is NOT A WRITTEN-DOWN LAW, but accepted as to be so. (GB vs. EU) Because of this, the British system of law is extremely flexible, but it was more about it, as until 3 years ago, it incorporated spoken or customary law too, where spoken agreement were taken for granted.
3. Non-statutory Written Documents: These are those written-down laws, which do not belong to the 1st part, but they are otherwisely important. They include different kinds of bindings and restrictions, because (on the contrary to the Hungarian-Latin law) EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED UNLESS THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE REGARDED AS ILLEGAL BY WRITING. A typical example of this is the Magna Charta Libertatum.
4. Judgements in courts-Case law (Bírósági Gyakorlat)-Obiter Dicta: Obiter dictum (plural obiter dicta, often referred to simply as dicta or obiter) is Latin for a statement "said in passing". An obiter dictum is a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision. Decisions and acts are based on it, but they are not necessarily followed word by word. Such as Habeas Corpus (in eng: have the
body) in murders. In courts ALWAYS THE PROOF IS IMPORTANT, AND WHEATHER IT WAS LEGALLY GATHERED NOT THE KNOWING OF THE GUILT.
a) the role of the judge: Judges have overwhelming power in the process of jurisdiction (igazságszolgáltatás), as they are "free to choose" any kind of decision, regardless of nearly anything. THE FORMER DECISIONS OF JUDGES ARE ADDED TO THIS SECTION, ND USED AS AN EXAMPLE IN OTHER COURST THEREAFTER.
5. Conventions: (Hagyományon alapuló törvények) Many British constitutional conventions are ancient in origin, though others (like the Salisbury Convention) date from within living memory. Such conventions, which include the duty of the Monarch to act on the advice of his or her ministers, are not formally enforceable in a court of law; rather, they are primarily observed "because of the political difficulties which arise if they are not." 5 types of conventions are being distinguished.
a) fundamental conventions: These conventions are of a top importance, dealing with not everyday-, but "high politics and -governing", for e: the leader of the winning party is being entitled to form a parliament by the monarch ONLY. The monarch has to give this right to the winner, although, in legal terms, nothing prohibits her to give it to someone else, as it is not written anywhere, BUT it is widely accepted from her to do so. Similar conventions: cabinet government, no official title of prime minister (!), supremacy (felsőbbség) of parliament, the parliament cannot "bind" itself for the future (so it can't declare that in any kind of issue, the parliament has no privilege to think a decision over in the future, making it to be different), official "opposition" of the parliament (what is called the "shadow parliament")
b) meso-conventions: The laws included here, are only "partly" important, as they do not usually deal with governing as a working institution, more likely, it makes it "official", or accepted or something else. These are for e: the opening ceremony of the parliament, "ran" by the monarch, or the monarch must not form a political opinion (even not in unofficial matters), cabinet solidarity (which means, that none of the parties should seem to be divided*---> OR SMTH ELSE???:D), subjudice (that is, nobody is allowed to talk about inside-the-party opinions), right to silence in courts, when asked (since Prime Minister Tony Blair, it is regarded as the sign of guilt)
c) semi-conventions: In these conventions, those "rules" are included, which are to preserve different types of "desirable" behaviours, in order to maintain the system as a whole, just like what oil does with the engine. Several conventions here are among the ones, dealing with the monarch/royal family, such as, the monarch has to sign a new law, although, s/he is not obliged to do so by a rule or a law. (otherwise, a commission would be entitled to sign it IN THE NAME OF THE QUEEN/KING). Another example of them is in England, there is no referendum (népszavazás), because it can be manipulated easily (2 important ones were held however: EU-membersip, which was accepted, and the changing of the political system, which was cancelled). In addition, the traditionally "noisy" British parliament is regulated somehow by these, like during resignation speeches, nobody SHOULD make attempts to interrupt, but it is not as strong as the previous ones.
A semi-convention was the existence of the title "lord" too, more exactly, nobody, having this title was allowed to BE ELECTED, and since such titles were obligatory inherited, lot of noble families were not allowed to take a part in politics. Then, when the 1923 election-winner Lord Stanley Baldwin (of the conservative party) asked the monarch to elect one of his party member (without the title lord), his highness allowed to the members of the House of Lords, to get rid of their titles, and take part in politics afterwards. But having such a title continually meant no participation in elections
d) infra-conventions: This kind of convention supports controversial CONSTITUTIONAL issues. One of this is the so called "citizen's arrest", what happens the time, when a crime happened and the criminal is taken to custody by a non-official, a civil person. These occasions are rare however, because if the civil person cannot prove the guiltiness of his/her captive, he himself/she herself would be taken to prison (this is called "false arrest") Another infra-convention is the custom of having the elections only in Thursdays, if possible, during the summer, what has long historic traditions, but there is no rule to make in a must.
e) usages, based on ceremonial issues: Sometimes strange traditions connected to ceremonies are included here. For example, the chancellor had to go on to 40 days "exile" before the Budget day (the day, the budget is announced) and after that, in the day, s/he went on a trip with his/her family and the whole "budget team"(and with the media), an arriving to his/her house, s/he showed around a box, announced the budget, then a GLASS OF WHISKY was offered to him/her (since Tony Blair, it is now banished). Another example here, was the custom, that nobody is allowed to turn a back to the monarch, what was banished lately too.
6. Usages: (Megszokáson alapuló trövények) It is a kind of unofficial compilation of laws, where the lawmaking is placed upon the basis of customs: whether people had got used to do something. In these cases, practice can change the commitments, that also contribute to the flexibility. This part includes such "agreements" like it is not accepted from politicians to make any comment on judgements, whereas the media can criticise it as much as it wants.
7. Authors on the constitution: Several works and publications of authors and writers also contributes to the "constitution".
8. EU laws: Since GB joined the EU in 1973, the compilation of law widened with the category of laws, created by the European Union. This is due to a kind of national "reluctance" towards the EU, because of its mostly binding and restricting "unbritish" legislature.
III. Elections: Since 2011 (sorry, but am not sure about the date), elections must take place in every 5 years (fixed-termed parliament), but before, a party announced new election whenever it wanted, so whenever, when its popularity was at the top. 1. The system of first-past-the-pole: It means that (unlike in Hungary), there is only 1
turn, and whoever wins that one, will be the prime minister and can form a government. I doesn't depend on the percentage compared to the whole country, the party gaining the higher number of votes wins, regardless of whether they are a minority compared the whole country or not (anyone can win by 30% for e, because it
doesn't matter, that 70% of the country was voted to another party, as there are almost no coalitions).
IV. The parliament and the governing structure: Since England is CONSTITUTIONAL monarchy, everything is done in the name of the current monarch, but the "ruler" is far cry from having real power. Since the Magna Charta (1215), royal powers have been trimmed, and since the Bill of Rights in 1689 (connected to the Glorious Revolution of William of Orange→Orániaia Vilmos), it has changed a lot. Today, the role of the monarch is transferred to the Prime Minister, since the monarch has nothing to do with the parliament. 1. The role of the monarch:
Since the kings and queens of England has no real power, they only attend ceremonial cases like the opening of the parliament. On the other hand, as the all-time monarch is the (honourable) ruler of other countries (so called the dependences), like Canada or Australia, s/he has to power to influence the laws of smaller and weaker parts of the once-great British Commonwealth (like the isles of Fidgi), through the Privy Council (királyi államtanács), esatblished in the 1490s, and used as a "prototype" of the cabinet thereafter.
2. The role of the Houses of Parliament: Although it consists of 2 houses, the Commons and the Lords, the latter has absolutely no, or very little power, so the word "parliament" is generally used for the previous one. It is an omnipotent institution of the executive power, however, it does not stand alone in the everyday work. The so called cabinet has expert employers (called civil servants generally, and their system is Civil Service), who are in charge of the whole system to operate. It is true, that the Prime Minister has quite an important position (having the right of veto for example), but the cabinet itself is the "oil in the machine", so it makes the schedule for the Prime, too. The importance of the cabinet can be seen in the kind of convention, that the Prime must not force his/her will to the civil servant (take Margaret Thatcher as an example, who had to resign because of it), or at war, the cabinet is responsible for dealing with the affaires. After the election day, a list of names is given by the Prime, in which the employers of the Civil Service are presented. Although, in legal terms, everyone can be a civil servant, but as it is rather a stabile position (unlike in many more places like HUN and USA, where the parties have their own civil servants). In fact, the cabinet has the job of working out the point of view of Great Britain about many many cases, since they employ experts from every walk of life (such as "china-experts" etc.), and the mediate between the monarch & prime, or the parliament etc. That is why the cabinet is the key to understand the governing structure of Britain. It has historical importance, too, besides, that its meeting HAS NO OFFICIAL RECORD until 1916, when Prime Minister Lloyd-George CONSTITUTIONALISED it, but till that time, the meeting were completely unofficial. The cabinet is very deeply involved in the executive branch. It has some parts in the judicial system as well. (system: simple court→county court→high court→ supreme court). The cabinet can make decisions in cases where judges has NO POWER, like juvenile delinquency (fiatalkorú bűnözés). There are no clear borders however. The cabinet differs from the government in many aspects, like, while the latter
consists of more than 150-200 members, the previous one is run by only some 25-50 employers. 3. The system of ministries: (take the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an example)
DEPARTMENTS functionaries
They have long historical tradition. These secretaries don't report to the Secretary of State (S of S), but to the Permanent Under-secretary of State (what is under the S of S) Among the departments, there is NO COORDINATION There is the so called Whitehall (road in the City of Westminster, in central London), where every ministries are located. The civil service is so deeply-rooted in the system of governing that it is sometimes called the "unbreakable wall", as it has more than 0,5 million employers. Vocabulary: codify: írásba foglal; decree: rendelet; gazump: szóbeli megegyezésen alapuló
adás/vétel; Habeas Corpus: (from 1679) „it's an Act of the Parliament of England passed during the reign of King Charles II to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of habeas corpus, a procedural device to force the courts to examine the lawfulness of a prisoner's detention.”
Landslide elections
Landslide election is the name of the phenomena, when a political party wins an election with such an overwhelming majority, that it is able to change fundamental issues.
I. Mixed government: It is a government, that consists of several particles, the British
government was such an institution around the 18th century, and it was based on 3
principles.
1. Monarchy: (monarchical pr.)
2. Aristocracy: (aristocratic) → House of Lords (entrenched, not elected)
3. Democracy: (democratic) → House of Commons (elected representatives)
There was no democracy in Englnad that time (acc. to some), but an aristocratic
system was operating, until the era of revolutions came (Great French Revolution in
1789 for e.), and the power-wielders started to fear their status (and life). They
decided to broaden the franchise (választójog).
II. Landslide elections: The governing system was based on the principle of "checks and
balances" (sorry, if I misheard it the 1st one, am not sure...) This system provided a kind
of balance against extremism (szélsőéges pol.-i felfogás), in a way that, the 3 principles
mentioned above counterbalanced each other (so, if there was a "shortage" in the side
of the monarch, the aristocracy acted against it for example), and this system was
operating in a regular and moderated basis (no revolution). As revolutions started to
struck all around Euorpe however, the leaders decided to give franchise to more people
in order to aviod a revolution.
1. 1832: (Reform Act) Middle-classes received the right to vote on the basis of property
qualification (vagyoni alapon) (around £50 from any type of icome, that time a great
deal of money), so the number of voter had increased, but still only the minority of
the population was allowed to vote.
2. 1867: (Reform Act II) That time, political opinions was formed in political clubs (like
Tories, Whigs) led by a charismatic leader. These leader realised after some time,
that further chnages had to be made, so the franchise was broadened agian, but this
time, it was exteded to the whole urban working class, increasing extensively the
number of voters (app. 60% of the pop.). The property quality was around £10 in
their case, but thier hostels and residences were taken into account. (Nota bene:
women was not allowed to vote until 1918) However, there was a so called
"bachelor tax", which was imposed to unmarried men, who had the right to vote.
3. 1884: (Reform Act III and Redistribution (of Parliament Seats) Act in 1885)
The franchise was extended to ruler workers ("peasants"), so it had become a
universal right, now the 96% of the pop. had this right. (Exceptions: mentally
disordered people, members of the House of Lords and prisoners.) This act resulted
however in seroious, unexpected consequences, which were called later the landslide
elections.
4. 1905: (general elections) So far, in the realm of English politics, there were strong
oppositions, so none of the sides could wield overwhelming power without any
border, because of the existence of balanced governments. This moderated status
the changed that year.
In 1905, the Liberal Democrat Party (Whig) gained an enormous majority (Liberal
Landslide), so it wiped out the Tories, so the Liberal Democrats could possibly do
ANYTHING they wanted, there was no balance.
a) positive results: The term "welfare state" was put in practice.
sick leave was introduced
state pensions were paid
maternity leave was introduced (but only for 2 days)
b) negative: A sense of class-hatred started to spread
5. 1922: Liberal Democrat majority again
6. 1945: The Labour Landslide (by this time, the Liberal Democrats had almost been
disappeared!
The Labour Party (consisted of trade unions, employees etc.), led by Clement Atlee
("conservative" mentality). It had become the biggest party in the Parliament, so it
could pass on several revolutionary changes, like comprehensive system of
education, developments in healthcare (free) and nationalisation of private industry.
This way, the state had more & more responsibility, so the CONSTITUTION was
changed. There was no balance again (as there was no counterbalance neither from
outside nor from inside the party).
7. 1979: (general elections) By this time, the Labourites,with their strict rules, had
driven GB to poverty, so general changes were required immediately. This time, the
Conservative Party (Tory) won, led by the charismatic Margaret Thatcher (the "Iron
Lady").Thatcher changed England totally. Almost everything was supervised, from
education, economy, entrepreneurship to even use of spoken language. The private
system was restored finally (alienation) where different potential investers had to
compete with each other. Banking and financial status was taken into account as a
major principle.
8. 1997: (general elections) The power of Thatcher had grown so immense, that
eventually she was forced to resign, so without her, the party could not win again.
This time, the Labourite leader Tony Blair led the election list, whose party won more
seats than any party in the history of GB politics ever.
a) 2001 (Terrorism Act): It was a kind of prevention replying to 9/11 in the US (and
also to Northern-Irland terroristic acts comitted by the IRA), so, as a consequece
of these, the CONSTITUTION was rewritten again, but this time, stricter rules
were included than ever (including the abolishment of right to silence in courts,
and from now on, might-be criminals could be held in detension for 60 days
without any accusation).
9. 2010: (general elections) Conservative victory with under the leaderhip of David
Cameron. The phenomenon of landslide elections was abolished by a convention for
ever, so, coalition has to be made since that time, furhermore, confidence has
become very important even inside the party, so if a sepresentative fails to keep
his/her confidence, he/she has to resign. The time of next election has also been
determined (May of 2015) which is unprecedented in GB history. The main goal of
this government is to cope with the economic crisis (huge deficit) so different kind of
payments has been introduced (like the university tuition fee, which triggered nation-
wide public outry).
GB Parliament
I The Parliament: (according to Bagehot from1867)
The UK Parliament consists of 2 Houses, the Lords and the Commons, and both has its
role in the most important responsibility of the Parliament, the law-making, but of
course, the Commons has more power. So, by Parliament, we mostly understand the
part of the Commons. Acc. to Bagehot, the Parliament has 5 important functions:
1 Decision-making: One role of the House is to decide whether someone can become
the member of the cabinet or not (although, it is very rarely changes its members)
a) electoral chamber: This is the place, where the electors are situated, voting and
debating takes place here, too. There is a title so called "The Father of the House"
(kb. házelnök), who usually has the longest membership in the Commons ("a
politician never retires"). S/he is only responsible for supervising the process of
debates, votes etc and s/he is chosen by a vote of confidence.
2 Expressive function: The Parliament gives voice to the opinions of the Members, too.
a) Hansard: Although, the debates and speeches today are recorded by cameras,
the most influential role of informing is placed on parliamentary reviews, and the
"newspaper" being in charge here is the Hansard. In England, reviews are thought
to be so confidential, that only the content of the Hansard what has to be taken
into account, no matter how smth happened in real life, no matter what could be
seen in the TV, if the Hansard states smth, it must be correct. So, that is to say, it
has a kind of "censoring" role, as only the content of it is accepted as official, so
nasty arguments are usually moderated this way.
3 Teaching function: Politicians, who have a long time spent in the Commons ("retired
politicians"), are usually earn respect to themselves by this way to an extent, that
they are constantly being asked to give advice to younger Members of Parliament
(and this way, they educate them by sharing the experiences). Or, they simply make
comments on the actual status of the country (for example: healthcare,
infrastructure, developments etc.). Of course, it is less common than it was before
the era of media (note however, that before 1978, there was no any record! due to
general secrecy)
4 Informing function: (similar to (b))
The Parliament has a kind of informing status to a certain extent, as during the long
long speeches, almost every really relevant piece of news is mentioned from
scientific ones to news from abroad. It is a kind of thing, which keeps the country
together.
5 Legislation: Although law-making is regarded as the utmost important role of the
Parliament, it is only partly true, because a significant amount of things is determined
well before it is announced to hold a debate on it.
a) making a law: The process of law-making is generally accomplished on the basis
of debates and voting. Debates are held several times and the House of Lords is
also included.
b) the process: (with the aid of James O'Driscoll's book: "Britain for learners of
English", but simplified)
bill: First, a proposal is made. Then, a kind of writ is published what explores
the causes of the proposal. In the case of a government paper, it has 2 types:
it can be a Green paper (it explains the ideas and causes behind the proposal)
or it can be a White paper (same as the previous one, but more explicit and
committed). After this, lawyers reword the proposal into a bill. Then, the bill
goes through different stages in the Commons. The leader of the House (the
speaker → government) announces the date of the debate.
First Reading: The MP (Member of the Parliament) reads the long and short
title of the bill (the short one is the formal name, in which it is used in courts
for example → citation, the long one is also formal, but with a short
description of the law). This time, there is no debate.
Second Reading: The Parliament debates only on the principle of the bill, not
the whole bill, then they take a vote ("The House is now divide")
Committee Stage: ("Bill goes upstairs"). In this stage, the Commons debates
the details of the bill and votes on amendments (kiegészítések) Here, there's
an interesting custom. Every representative has to choose between 2 doors
by going through them (one is called the "Aye Lobby" → support, the other is
called "No Lobby" → against the bill)
Report Stage: The House considers the amendments (in fact, representatives
start to debate loudly)
Third Reading: There's a new, amended bill, and it is debated as a whole. Here
the representatives can "make up their mind" about the bill, then it is passed
on to the Lords.
the role of the House of Lords: Here, the bill goes through the same stages (in
fact, this process is really short, takes approximately 10 minutes) and the
Lords debate it. They have 2 options:
(a) send back: They can send it back to the Commons with a request of
change, suggested by them.
(b) dismissal: They can reject it totally (but this case is very rare → last time in
1992, War Crime Bill). However, the Commons is superior since 1911 (no
Lords permission is needed to a bill to become a law)
becoming a law: After a bill is accepted, it is sealed (lepecsételik) with a
special stamp, with a writ on it "the Queen wants it" in Norman French
(Norman korban használt francia) "la reyne le veult".
The territory of Great Britain and their role in politics
I Short history: The UK was once a great empire, with lots of members in the
Commonwealth of England (Angliai Államközösség) (including India, Canada etc.), but
Scotland Wales and Ireland in fact was a part of the UK (by force and conquest). The
whole of Scotland and Ireland (after the revolution of Cromwell) was incorporated
(bekebelez), as well as Wales. In the times of the Commonwealth and the British Empire,
in such a "welfare state" ethnic problems were not as common as they are today. After
the country started to become poorer, the different nations started to rebel against the
English reign. These otherwise ancient nations originates from Celtic ancestors, rooting
in Celtic tradition, therefore, they are commonly referred as the Celtic branch.
II The members of the Celtic Branch:
1 Wales: The Territory of Wales was not intended to be ruled by England in the
beginning (Welsh means "Foreigner" in Old English (Óangol)), but now, it is rule by
the Prince of Wales ( Prince Charles currently), who is a member of the Royal Family,
and officially, England is called England and Wales (among others, since the country
has several "official" names). Despite being the member of the UK, Wales has its own
legislative institution called the Welsh Assembly (National Assembly for Wales), with
elections every 4 years and with 60 members (called AMs, that is, Assembly
Members) responsible for local issues. They have the power to accept laws for Wales
without consulting with the UK Parliament (since 2011).
2 Scotland: Since the Act of Union in 1707, Scotland is a part of the UK. Being one of
the most independent nations of England, Scotland has special privileges.
a) Scottish Parliament: (generally referred to as "Holyrood", since it is situated in
this area of Edinburgh) It has 129 members (called MSPs, Members of the
Scottish Parliament), being elected in every 4 years, and having power to accept
laws on their own, however, the UK Parliament has the right to extend or reduce
the areas in which it can make laws. Westminster (UK Parliament) is continually
debates on issues which might have Scottish relations, but domestic policy (local
law) is made by the MSPs and education, healthcare, agriculture and justice is
under the power of Scottish Parliament.
b) education: It is very different from English education. They have broadened
curricula (that is, they teach a bigger variety of subjects, and because of this, the
first years at Scottish universities consist of 4 years), they have different exams,
and particularly interesting that ancient universities (like the University of
Edinburgh) use the term "Master of Art" for the first degree in humanities.
c) religion: Scotland officially does not belong to the Church of England, instead,
traditional Catholic Christianity is the ruling religion here.
d) different legal system: The legal system of Scotland is based on Roman law,
instead of Anglo-Saxon, so the responsibility of judges is high, because there is no
jury (esküdtszék). Interestingly, a court in Scotland can announce not only 2, but 3
verdicts (ítélet), so besides being "guilty" and "not "guilty", the court might
announce "not proven" which means, that the person is not found guilty, but
he/she is not cleared of guilt, either.
3 Ireland: (Note, that only Northern Ireland is a part of the UK, The Republic of Ireland
itself is an independent country)
a) brief history: The region was not conquered in the Roman era, so it remained so
unknown in Europe, that it was believed to be the place of Purgatory or Hell. In
1154, Henry I decided to colonise Ireland, so he went to Pope Adrian IV (only
English pope in history → Nicolas Breakspeare), who organised a brief crusade to
gain power in the country while 2 Celtic chieftains waged war against each other.
Later, after years of sequential wars, In 1603, English dominance spread to the
country, and in 1801, it became a part of the UK. After a war of independence in
1919, Ireland was separated (in 1921 → Northern and Southern), and Southern
became independent. (1922).
b) Home Rule: (There were 4: in 1886, 1893, 1914, 1920 → Government Act, giving
more and more rights to Ireland) It established officially the Republic of Ireland,
but because of protestant dominancy in the North, this part remained under
English domination. Despite that, the Parliament of Northern Ireland was
established, too.
c) Parliament of Northern Ireland: (simplified "version" since the governing here is
very complicated) The Northern Ireland Assembly is unicameral (egykamarás) It
has 108 members from the 6 ancient counties (called MLAs, Members of the
Legislative Assembly), elected in every 4 years. The Monarch is represented by
the Governor (initially by the Lord Lieutenant "főispán"), who granted Royal
Assent to Acts of Parliament in Northern Ireland, but executive power rested
with the Prime Minister, the leader of the largest party in the House of
Commons. It has the right to accept laws, but in more important issues, the UK
Parliament decides, or at least UK permission is needed.
d) Northern Ireland Executive: The Northern Ireland Executive is the administrative
branch of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature (törvényhozó
testület) for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was
established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act in 1998.
4 Connections between the UK and the Celtic Branch: Officially, Westminster has no
connection with the national parliaments, since it has only loose relationship with
them. Today, this relationship is rather controversial, as, for example, a Scottish-
English referendum (népszavazás) was held this year to create new shapes to the
relations.
a) the West Lothian question: The existence of 2 parliaments in England (1 for whole
GB and 1 only for Scotland) rises much controversy, since what should be the
borders for the previous, and what should be for the latter one. The movement
derives its name from the representative of the constituency (választókerület) of
Lothian, who rose this question for the 1st time. It is mainly about the fact, that
Westminster MPs cannot vote on some issues concerning Scotland (since
education, legal system etc. is under the Scottish parliament), but there are
Westminster MPs from Scotland, who vote on issues, that Scotland has nothing
to do with. Some think, that Westminster should remain only for England (that is,
apart from the Celtic Branch), and all other parliaments should be given more
rights, while according to others, a supreme Great Britain Parliament would be
more advisable to exist, wielding power over the whole UK. The question is not
settled even today.
II
The United States of America
Introduction
I Differences between parliamentary and presidential governing:
These 2 terms are not really separated as in almost every cases, where there is a
parliament, there is a president, too. However, where the
1 Parliamentary: (from wiki)
A parliamentary system is a system of democratic government in which the
ministers of the Executive Branch derive their legitimacy from and are accountable
to a Legislature or parliament; the Executive and Legislative branches are
interconnected. A typical example here is Hungary.
2 Presidency: (from wiki)
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch is led by
a president who serves as both head of state and head of government. In such a
system, this branch exists separately from the legislature, to which it is not
responsible and which it cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss (The legislature may
retain the right, in extreme cases, to dismiss the executive, often through a process called
impeachment. However, such an intervention is seen as so rare (only two United States presidents
were impeached—charged with misconduct—and neither was convicted) as not to contradict the
central tenet of presidentialism, that in normal circumstances using normal means the legislature
cannot dismiss the executive.). This extent of power a president can wield, however,
differs country by country.
a) weak presidency: The president nearly has any power(like in Ireland), and in
some cases, the president has only ceremonial purposes like the monarch of GB.
b) strong presidency: In countries following this way, the president has almost
absolute power, he/she is literally the "head of the state" (like in France), having
the capability of carrying out entire new issues alone (see Obamacare above).
II Presidency within the confines of the US:
The US is typically a country, where there is strong presidency in practice (too strong,
according to some). Here, the branches of power (legislature, executive, judiciary) are
artificially separated, where legislature is led by the congress, judiciary is led by the
supreme court and the head of executive is the president itself. The importance of the
president in the US dates back to the time of the war of independence.
1 Brief history of the status of the president:
After the great waves of colonialisation, 13 colonies were established, all consisting
of (more or less rich) merchants, sailsmen and farmers. The colonies, however, were
constantly jeopardised by the French colonies, who were stronger in practice than
the US, lacking proper military forces. The make these assaults stop, GB sent huge
number of troops to help out the US which played an important role in the global
market of the British Commonwealth. After subsequent battles, the French was
forced to retreat, but GB spent so much on them, that the government tried to make
the US pay for it (in practice, some % of the US trade income must had been paid to
the GB treasury). The US refused to do this on the principle of "no taxation without
representation", as they did not take part in English parliamentary debates. Because
of this contradiction, GB ceased helping them with the governing structure, and soon,
wartime conditions of the war of independence lead to the establishment of a local
governing structure, led by the president of the US.
III The uniqueness of the US system:
The unique aspect of the US governing system embodies in the phenomenon of the so
called cohabitation. In the US, there are 2 kind of general elections: one for choosing a
president, and one (after 2 years of the previous one) for choosing the members of the
congress. It is not necessary, that after the presidential nominee of one party won, the
same party will be in majority in the congress. (Obama (Dem), for example, had to co-
operate with a Republican congress, but his power was so huge, that he could carry out
the controversial Obamacare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) despite the
fiery protest of the congress).
1 Some aspects of the US CONSTITUTION: To get a clearer picture of the system, one
should become familiar with the basics of the US constitution.
a) origin: Although, the whole compilation of laws was created by the Founding
Fathers (like Benjamin Franklin or George Washington), this artificial constitution
is still a kind of descendant of the British and the French ones. There are
similarities between them like, the President is the head of the executive branch
of power.
b) social bargaining: A widely common aspect of GB constitutional practise is also
involved, namely, the fact, that (almost) every individual can influence the
constitutional law. That is to say, different laws are so "briefly" and "freely"
formulated, that they can be argued and can be changed by for example an
unprecedented court trial, where the judge accepts the special status of
someone, despite it is regarded as illegal by the law.
2 Debates about the making of the US:
When the fundamental laws of the country was created, the Founding Fathers held
debates about highly important issues concerning the US. They argued about
whether there should be a strong or a weak presidency, or should their country
placed upon the basis of a federal constitution (so each state has their own rights as
today) or not. These were completely up-to-date questions that time, since the US as
a new-born country wouldn't have centuries history behind it, like most European
countries. There is no ancient or simply old legitimacy there even today, because,
say, the US was born from an idea (it is said to be the "freedom"). Protestant
ideology also took part in the concept of the Founding Fathers and it is still present in
present day US as a kind of "missionary attitude" towards homeland: that is the
cause why the law prohibits dishonouring the national flag, for example.
IV The special status of US judges: (please note that this is a rather schematic figure!!!)
The US (as the GB) system of jurisdiction is based in the application of jury (esküdtszék).
Although, they vote, they proclaim the verdict and the judge seem to be in charge of the
legal and "fair" procedure of the whole trial (as the decide what is acceptable and what is
not), but in fact the judge has very influential power over the court trial. He/she can
proclaim another verdict, which might be totally the opposite of the decision of the jury.
This is not quite often happens, but not impossible. In theory, the jurors investigates the
question of fact and proofs (whether the accusation was well established with proofs or
not), while the judge investigates the question of law. So, the judge is the official, who
knows the methods of the law, of course, they are not allowed to propose an entirely
false verdict, without any support.
1 Very brief history of the system: The strange phenomenon dates back to Napoleonic
times. The emperor prohibited the judges to make general announcements (so to
create laws on their own), and ordered them to follow the so called Code Civil or
Code Napoleon (the compilation of laws made by Napoleon) only. This system was
adopted to the so called Philadelphia Convention (1787), where it was modified*, so
the judiciary system today is not separated in practice from legislation, a judge can
propose an established, but different verdict is he/she adjudge the situation
differently.
2 Articles of confederation: (from wiki)
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual
Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United
States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first
constitution. Its drafting by the Continental Congress began in mid-1776, and an
approved version was sent to the states for ratification in late 1777. The formal
ratification by all 13 states was completed in early 1781. Even when not yet ratified,
the Articles provided domestic and international legitimacy for the Continental
Congress to direct the American Revolutionary War, conduct diplomacy with Europe
and deal with territorial issues and Indian relations. Nevertheless, the weak
government created by the Articles became a matter of concern for key nationalists.
On March 4, 1789, the Articles were replaced with the U.S. Constitution. The new
Constitution provided for a much stronger national government with a chief
executive (the president), courts, and taxing powers.
V The 13 colonies: (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut,
Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North
Carolina, and Rhode Island)They were mostly of non-English origin in their names. A lot
of them was a kind of inheritance of GB (like Georgia → King George III or most notably,
Virginia → Elisabeth III ("the virgin queen"). Another origin was the name of English
settlements like New Jersey), or there were Native words, too, like Connecticut.
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont 1is
usually referred to as "New England".
1 Opposition between North and South: N and S was so different (in their inhabitants
in their interests and so on), that almost no sooner the War of Independence was
over, a new kind of opposition started to shape between the 2 areas.
a) the federalist North: The majority of the population here consisted of rich upper-
middle-, or middleclass land-owners, who wanted a country of clear and strong
governing, where they would lead. The North was led by most notably George
Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
b) the anti-federalist South: They consisted of rather poor farmer, who came from
different part of the world, escaping from the strict rules and regulations of their
home countries to exploit the opportunities of America (like slavery or large
fields). Of course, they were against the idea of a strong (rather centralised)
government. They didn't want another "nobility", as it is commonly said, they
wanted to remain independent. Here, most people earned their livings from
exploiting slavery in sugar-and-cotton plantations. This side was led by Patrick
Henry and Tom Paine.
c) the Civil War: (1861–1865) The opposition were so huge that they led to a war
inside the country. The long and bloody war, which is probably the most cruel
example in the history of warfare, finished with the victory of the North,
abolishing the slavery (in theory) from the territory of the US.
2 The Philadelphia Convention (1787): After the war, people (in both sides) realised the
fact that they have literally no governing system, so 55 brave men started to make
one up.
1 It joined later, wasn't a part of the 13 colonies
a) original colonies: Local arrangements, local issues (like marriages or punishment)
were settled locally, based on Native-American conventions, but the system did
not work properly. The US even did not have a capital city (Washington DC later).
b) the Founding Fathers: These 55 men were not representatives or any other
officials, they just started to think of dissolving the chaos of those years. They
examined the existing governing systems in total secrecy, while nobody entitled
them to do so. They gathered together in Philadelphia, where 7 states
represented themselves. They figured out the entire system debating constantly,
so the CONSTITUTION shows this "style of formal agreements". However, it
formulates an 18 c. idea of democracy, which is unlike today's. This is the cause,
why there is so many amendments (kiegészítések) in it, as people are reluctant to
re-write it.
c) The US CONSTITUTION: The 1st article of it deals with the bi-cameral
(kétkamarás) parliamentary system of the US. They are based on the principle of
"checks and balances", were the emphasis is put on balance and the separation
of the houses.
Senate: (the upper house) Each state delegates 2 representatives for 6 years,
100 seats altogether; no real elections by the people, delegates are appointed
on the basis of respect and social "reputation".
House of Representatives: 435 seats, elections in every 2 years which causes a
sense of insecurity
This institution has more power than the previous one. Elections are led by
the principle of " Plurality voting system" → 1st wins
electoral boundaries: Districts for elections do not correspond to real borders,
that's why it is easier to cheat (Gerrymandering → from Gerry Mander's
name, it is the process of creating artificial boundaries in a way to make a
certain representative win → black Americans in majority but represented by
white men bc of this cheating).
general elections: In every 4 years
d) US Bill of Rights: In GB, the Bill regulated the issues concerning the connection of
the monarch, the cabinet and the rather centralised government, so in the US,
people wanted an individual B of Rs.
VI US Presidential power:
1 A comparison: As the lecture is based on as comparison between the GB and the US
system, this category will present the US way, while devoting some words to the GB
parallel, too.
a) Presidency: The US President has overwhelming power over the cabinet and
other particular parts of governing (like legislation etc.), thus, a US President
cannot be "terrified" with any kind of act. Unlike in GB, where there are so called
"PM Qs", Prime Minister Questions, when the whole House of Commons
bombards him/her with questions, who must answer it immediately and with
great precision. Such thing is impossible in the US.
2 Powers given to the US President:
a) criteria: There are some requirements of being a US president, stated in the
CONSTITUTION. Someone, who wants to nominate him/herself to this position
must live in the US for at least 14 years from the time of nomination (but
strongly should be a native-born), must be at least 35 years old, and must be a
US citizen.
b) 3 types of things affect strongly the power a P can wield:
CONSTITUTION: A US P has several rights stated in the CONS.
s/he has to "take care" of the laws, as the ultimate leader of the executive
branch of power. However, the CONS never says whether s/he has the
power to create laws or not, but a P can (kind of convention, unlike in GB)
the US P is the commander-in-chief of the military forces if the country is
at war, however, s/he is unable to declare war without the permission of
the Congress. S/he can answer to an ambush solely, but can only continue
waging war with the permission. In, GB the monarch has the power to
declare war on the basis of his/her discretionary powers2 on the basis of
national consensus.
The P has to right to recall any member of the Senate or the House of
Representatives (although it has never happened in the US history), while
a GB P cannot do such thing
the P has a right to veto (to dismiss a potential law) in legislature. The
Congress (the Senate and the House of Representatives together) can re-
veto the Ps veto, however to do this, 2/3 majority is needed in both
House and Senate (so it's pretty rare). Such things never happen in GB
where "the time decides" whether something is CONSTITUTIONAL or not.
If such a question would arise in the US however, only the Supreme Court
can decide about its validity.
a president him/herself can sign an act, unlike in GB, where the
Parliament debates on it
has the power of making treaties with foreign independent powers3
can grant pardons (kegyelem) to individuals, who committed a felony (a
major crime; not used in GB but used frequently in the US), although it
2 In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve (or discretionary) power is a power
that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch of the government. Unlike in a presidential system of government, the head of state is generally constrained by the cabinet or the legislature in a parliamentary system, and most reserve powers are usable only in certain exceptional circumstances. 3 Around the mid 1800s, when this law was passed, there were few so called individual powere that does not
belong to either of the Empires, like the Brittish Commonwealth etc.
rarely happens. This procedure is impossible in GB, where only judiciary
can decide about a verdict
extension of CONS: Since the US was a poor country in the 1800s becoming a
welfare state only in the 1900s, the powers of the P had to be changed. In the
US, however, the original wording of the CONS must be conserved, so the
extend it every time when it is needed.
inherent powers: In the US, the President has sovereign powers, deriving
from the loosely-worded statement of the CONS: "the executive Power
shall be vested in a President". This embodies in the so called presidential
orders. This originates from the time of the Civil War, where President
Lincoln had to decide immediately about waging war with the South, so
he arbitrarily extended the expenditure of military forces. This is the case
with a so called preventive war, too, when a country attacks another state
to prevent the ambush of it. The Congress can explicitly delegate this
power to the P in serious cases.
(i) New Deal: (1933-1936) Roosevelt was given the right to inject serious
sums of money in the US economy to reduce extreme unemployment.
He established the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) in which he
started having huge dams built, giving work to hundreds of thousands.
(ii) Nixon: He was given the power to freeze the wages and the prices .
In GB, a President can do it, too, but it happens very rarely. It is
regulated by the Privy (Royal Court of Justice), resorting to an Order in
Council4.
the War Powers Resolution: (1973) It is a federal law intended to check
the President's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict
without the consent of Congress. It was established after 2 notorious
incidents, happening abroad.
(i) Bay of Pigs Invasion: In 1961, in Cuba led by Dictator Fidel Castro, the
CIA organised a well-formed plan how to send special military forces
to capture (or kill) Castro. It finished with an ultimate failure however,
as no sooner the troops landed, they were captured and arrested by
the Cubans.
(ii) Gulf of Tonkin: In 1964 in Vietnam, the French were forced to leave
the country to give opportunity to local governing, however, it
immediately became the target of 2 superpowers: the Soviet Union
and the US. In order to prevent Soviet lead, the US sent a battleship to
4 A representative of the government (generally a cabinet minister or the Lord President of the Council) reads
out batches of Orders in Council drafted by the government in front of the Queen, who, after every couple of orders, says 'Approved'. They then pass into law, and come into effect. However several instances have been recorded where a governor has questioned the technical basis of a proposed regulation, refused assent, and the order has been returned to the relevant department for revision. To see more go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_in_Council
attack 2 North-Vietnamese battleships without caution. These ships
sank, but opposing the facts, the US government stated that the
Vietnamese started the ambush so the US declared a war. Later, it
was revealed and it caused enormous public outcry.
popular appeal: In the US, the power is greatly affected by how popular is the
person of the current president, as the P wins not as a member of a party,
but an individual candidate (unlike in GB, where parties take part in
elections). In the US, people elect directly the president, so this way, even the
Congress can be put into the shade (háttérbe szorít) to some extent. This
overwhelming effect is immensely affected by the so called State of the Union
addresses. They are such occasions, when the P directly fives speeches to the
people via the TV (this is however a GB CONS issue, adopted to the US later)
McCarthyism: (mccarthyzmus) This effect is more easy to understand by
presenting an example. Senator Joseph McCarthy accused many
politicians of being "communist spies". He gave precise names and by
doing this, he not only destroyed political careers, but made many people
to commit suicide. It was highly ridiculous, as later most of the accused
people were proved to be innocent (hence the ironic name). The public
was waiting for presidential comment on this, but the current President,
Eisenhower was reluctant to do so, so he became so unpopular that he
had to resign.
VII US Legal branch and judiciary: (in comparison to the British one) The US legal system is
mostly supervised by the Supreme Court, but judges have the right to make a judgement
based on their own opinion (regardless of the opinion of the jury albeit, there's an
enormous pressure on judges to obey the decision of it). Hence the origin of some
"famous" court cases, which later became precedents and as a result of this, a part of the
CONSTITUTION. As in the US, the content of the CONS is too "sacred" to be revised, new
laws come into being in the form of amendments. The first 10 amendments are called
the Bill of Rights
1 A more famous amendment and 2 famous cases:
a) Right to bear arms: (2nd amendment) It states the right of the people to keep
and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the
Bill of Rights.
b) Dred Scott v. Sandford: (1857) A Supreme Court decision, which has become a
milestone in the history of US slavery. The story in short is the following: Mr.
Scott, of African origin, turned to the court with his plea to "liberate" him from
his slavery, binding him to the brother of his master's wife. (In fact, during the
travels, Mr. Scott married to a non-slave Afro-American woman, and had a non-
slave child; with his master, they stayed in State Louisiana , which granted
liberation for those, who stayed in the state for some time). Later, this plea was
refused on the basis of "the lack of proofs of his slavery" (technicalities), and the
Supreme Court declared that the federal government had no power to regulate
slavery in the territories, and that people of African descent (both slave and
free) were not protected by the Constitution and were not U.S. citizens.
c) Roe v. Wade: (1973) It deals with the issue of abortion, whether women have the
right to cease pregnancy and if so, on what basis. The controversial issue finally
became a law, declaring abortion a right of women but only after strict scrutiny
(alapos, részletes vizsgálat) and only on the basis of rape. Another important
issue is the viability of the foetus.
2 The GB legal system in short:
a) common law: (here only common law is stated, as it is more close to the US legal
system) 2 meanings (old and modern → made by judges)
Judges can make laws (which is rather controversial in GB, since there's no
Supreme Court to supervise this procedure). A good example of it is the right to
silence, which prohibits the jury to adjudge the defendant negatively on the basis
of his/her silence when asked. (Since then, Thatcher challenged this argument, so
sometimes, under different conditions, it is regarded to be a sign of guilt →
controversial!!!)
obiter dicta: the comments of judges on laws (plural of obiter dictum)
these laws are still tried and revised
laws made by the Parliament are regarded "stronger"
1919: equity (jogosság) On the basis of a law called loitery without intend,
(szándék nélküli "bámészkodás") people, regarded not a "bona fide" (reliable
person) was transported to Australia (which was a prison island that time), for
even frivolous crimes, like stealing a chicken. This law was so extremist that
the Lord Chancellor (főkancellár) of the GB government was given the right to
supervise these decisions in a Court Chancellery, investigating mistreatments
of common law.
magistrates' court: "A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly
known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and
many other common law jurisdictions. A magistrates' court is presided over
by a tribunal consisting of three justices of the peace (also known as
magistrates) or by a district judge (formerly known as a stipendiary
magistrate), and dispenses summary justice, under powers usually defined by
statute. The tribunal presiding over the Court is commonly referred to simply
as the Bench." (from wiki) The magistrates are always "available", so the
defendant do not have to be put to prison until the date of a trial. They do not
have to be trained lawyers.
House of Lords: In 2009, the "12 Law Lords" (Lords of Appeal in Ordinary)
moved to a new building from the House of Lords called the Supreme Court of
the United Kingdom. Since that time, the House of Lords lost its (very limited)
power in law-making.
"system of lawyers": In GB, there are 2 kinds of lawyers: the so called
solicitors and the barristers. The solicitors (commonly referred to as
"lawyers") are dealing with the defendant in person (responsible for
paperwork etc.), while the barrister deals with legal procedures in courts
(solicitors do not participate here). These 2 branches are so different that a
solicitor e.g. cannot become a barrister without getting another, completely
different university degree on law (usually, barristers are considered more
educated and more valued, than solicitors).
3 The US system: Federal Court System
In a federal court system, every state has its own court system and in the US, there
are country courts, too. Apart from these, there are other levels of courts in the same
time.
a) district courts: "The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the
United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the
district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United
States bankruptcy court associated with each United States district court. Each
federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and many districts have more
than one. The formal name of a district court is "the United States District Court
for" the name of the district—for example, the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Missouri." (from wiki). The judges here do not have to be
trained lawyers (?) and at these courts, "the burden of proof" is on the
prosecution. Very important that the whole procedure must be carried out
correctly, unless the defendant cannot be sentenced.
b) circuit courts: "The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts → vidéki
tárgyalásra kiszálló bíróság) are the intermediate appellate courts of the United
States federal court system. A court of appeals decides appeals from the district
courts within its federal judicial circuit, and in some instances from other
designated federal courts and administrative agencies. The United States Courts
of Appeals are considered among the most powerful and influential courts in the
United States. Because of their ability to set legal precedent in regions that cover
millions of people, the United States Courts of Appeals have strong policy
influence on U.S. law; however, this political recognition is controversial.
Moreover, because the U.S. Supreme Court chooses to hear fewer than 100 of
the more than 10,000 cases filed with it annually, the United States Courts of
Appeals serve as the final arbiter on most federal cases" (from wiki).
There are 12 courts, which are regionally distributed. (11 + D.C. , stands for
Washington)
SUMMARY I The US:
(Mostly from Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America) He was a Frenchmen, responsible for
reporting to the French Parliament about the US situation in the 19th century. He analysed the
current status of the country, pointing out the drawbacks and the advantages.
1 His general opinion: He formulates a general opinion about the US during his travels. He that
in the US, there is:
a) Equality of rights: The rights are extended to women, too, however, slavery is accepted
and slaves are excluded from human rights.
b) "Manifest destiny": (from wiki)
Manifest destiny was the belief widely held by Americans in the 19th century that the
United States was destined to expand across the continent. This concept, born out of "A
sense of mission to redeem the Old World by high example generated by the
potentialities of a new earth for building a new heaven". The phrase itself meant many
different things to many different people. The unity of the definitions ended at
"expansion, prearranged by Heaven". Mid-19th-century politicians would use it to
explain the need for expansion beyond the Louisiana Territory. Manifest destiny
provided the dogma and tone for the largest acquisition of U.S. territory.
c) Lack of democracy: He found that in the US, people only feel that they only live in a
democratic country.
representative democracy and government: In the US, those who have the right to
vote, can only vote to representatives, who represent them in certain situations,
opposing to direct democracy, where people can vote directly on the questions they
are concerned.
"despotism of public opinion": Every person, who want to be elected behave in the
way they think it's the most popular. According to T, people are likely the one, whose
popularity is the highest, not the person who is capable of "leading" the country.
Mostly, it's the trend of uneducated people.
tyranny of the majority: It happens, when a politician is supported by the vast
majority of the Senate. In this case, the majority can abuse the democracy, deceiving
the electors with propaganda speeches. On the other hand, when the sides are
balanced, long and never-to-end speeches can confuse the people, concentrating on
persuasion, rather the factuality. This weakens the democracy.
violence of party spirit: "Party-politicians" are weak in France, that is why T thinks
that strong "party-politicizing", which is typical in the US and in GB is rather harmful
to democracy. Politicians here are ruthless and the phenomena of uncivilised political
speeches is usual.
II The UK: (mostly from Vernon Bogdanor)
1 GB parliament: Although, the GB Parliament (the House of Commons) enjoys absolute
superiority in legislature in theory, there are major limitations in practice. (BE CAREFUL:
POTENTIAL EXAM QUESTIONS!!!)
a) minority issues: (connected to territorial validity)There are members in the House of
Commons from for example Scotland, who vote in questions concerning England (NOT
Great Britain, only England), but English representatives cannot vote on several Scottish,
Irish and Welsh issues. It oppose the fact that a country should seem powerful, not
divided. This phenomenon raises heated debates (see further: West-Lothian question).
b) parliament cannot enact unchangeable rules
c) European Union: It imposes regulations and laws, which are obligatory for every member
of the EU.
most GB laws have to be subject to EU laws, although GB is the " mother of
parliaments"5 (this is the cause, why GB cannot decide, whether to leave the EU or
not):
imperial measurements (like foot → láb and pound → font) are abolished and a
standard, based on metrical system is "advised" to use
Monarchy: Dignity (respect) or real power? If so, to what extent?
In the UK, the institution of monarchy is symbolic, however, some parliamentary and
public happenings (like the opening of the Parliament) cannot work without it, as GB
has strong historic and traditional roots.
(NB: GB word for the role of a minister is DEPUTY!)
5 Words of the British politician and reformer, John Bright, from a speech at Birmingham on 18 January, 1865